Terlingua, Texas Backroads. The Big Bend of Texas. Chihuahuan Desert. Standing tall in defiance through shades of red and black, rocks surround. Watching my every move. Silhouettes of Ocotillo stretch across the sky, thorns hidden in their softness. Riding Terlingua backroads, a yucca stands sentinel along the way. Wind dips down from the mesa and …
Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta UPDATE
Saturday at the Zoo,Sunday at the Park Every year the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta celebrates the natural wonders of the mountainous desert in our big backyard while encouraging people to explore and discover parks and other protected areas. The seventeenth annual Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta is coming up and for the first time will be held as …
Biosphere Region and Reinhabitation
In the 1970s, a counterculture group called Planet Drum Foundation was formed in California to discuss ideas about people in connection to the planet. They pursued research and produced educative information on the relationships between human culture and the natural processes of the planetary biosphere. Today when confronting environmental crisis and conservation, we use terms …
Word for the Day: Sky Island
Sometimes I lock the gate. Sometimes I leave it locked. Protecting the space in which I see and hear myself most clearly. Validation coming only from within. My thoughts an island. Madera Canyon Overlook Not the only “island” in west Texas, however, there are others. Three others in fact: the Guadalupe, Chisos, and Davis Mountains. …
Footprints in the Sand: Horseback Riding White Sands National Park, New Mexico
Blinding white in all directions. Footprints erased by wind. Every route the same. Driving south from Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico the land greets us with open arms. Ranges and ranches go on for miles. I can breathe. I can see. The chaos of Alamogordo gives way to White Sands National Park, sitting pristine at …
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Defensa De La Sierra volunteer update
Defensa De La Sierra de Cuidad Juarez is a group in Juarez that wants to make a difference to stop the uncontrolled destruction of wildlife habitat in Mexico. Earlier this year we told you about group leader Ray Aguilar who has provided this update.by Ray Aguilar Ciudad Juárez is a place that needs a lot of environmental …
Bringing the prairie dog back to El Paso
Hello, I am Jacob Croft, a scientist trained in biology working with the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition. Over the past year I have been working on a project to bring back the black-tailed prairie dog to the El Paso region. Over the past 4 months I have been in contact with many different local, state, …
Discover the joy of volunteering
A growing number of people are volunteering with the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition (CDEC). Most are serving on the board of directors, but there are also opportunities to volunteer for specific tasks. Here are a variety of ways you can get involved in support of our mission in educating people about the fascinating Chihuahuan Desert. …
Nature conservation effort underway in Juarez
Ray Aguilar exploring the Samalayuca Dune Fields area south of Juarez. by Rick LoBello Earlier this year after reading a number of Facebook posts on the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition group page, I met Ray Aguilar and his friend Nestor Acosta from Juarez on Zoom. Ray and his friends are working to protect the Sierra …
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Desert Bighorn Sheep Update
These rare specters are still surviving, perhaps even thriving, since their release in 2018 into the lowlands of the Sacramento Mountains near Alamogordo, New Mexico (90 miles north of El Paso). Forty desert bighorn sheep were released by the New Mexico Game and Fish to reintroduce this native species back into its original habitat. Since …
Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition 